BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

01/05/2008

US expels six Belarus diplomats

The US has ordered the expulsion of the remaining six Belarus diplomats in Washington and New York, the Associated Press news agency has said.

The US is to close its own embassy in the Belarus capital Minsk, AP reports.

Belarus has been given until 16 May to close it embassy in Washington and its consulate in New York, US officials told AP.

On Wednesday, Belarus ordered the expulsion of 10 US diplomats as relations worsen between the countries.

The US was given 72 hours to send the diplomats home, leaving five staff at the embassy in Minsk.

In March, the ex-Soviet republic ordered the US ambassador to leave.

The diplomatic expulsions were initially ordered after Washington imposed sanctions on the country's state-controlled oil-processing and chemicals company, Belneftekhim.

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7378046.stm

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